


of the world and the way it makes you feel afraid

by orphan_account



Category: Panic! at the Disco
Genre: Angst, Growing Up, M/M, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:01:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24330244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Relationships: Ryan Ross/Brendon Urie
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	of the world and the way it makes you feel afraid

Brendon Urie came from a rich family. His father was a wealthy businessman, and now that Brendon was sixteen, he had to start preparing to be one too. So he stood up straight and slicked his hair back, and he always wore a suit and never ever smiled. It was a miserable existence, but an existence that Brendon had resigned himself to. Today, he was walking back from school. It was a gloomy day outside, the clouds heavy with rain that was still yet to come. Brendon was staring at the sidewalk, his mind blank, when he crashed into another person. Losing his balance, Brendon shut his eyes tight. And when he opened them, a small, delicate looking boy with an intricate flower crown decorating the mass of soft brown curls on his head was looking at him, blinking his big, pretty eyes in concern.

“Are you okay?”, he asked nervously, brushing the dirt off of Brendon’s suit and helping him back up. “Y-yeah. Yes. I’m fine. Brendon Urie, nice to meet you.”, he introduced himself formally, holding out a hand for the other boy to shake. Instead, he giggled. “You don’t have to be so fancy with me. ‘M Ryan. Ryan Ross.” And they started to talk. The boys discovered that they had quite a bit in common: they were both sixteen, they were both gay, but hadn’t come out to their families yet, they both liked The Beatles and felt isolated from the other boys at their schools. But the part of the conversation that really stuck with Brendon was when Ryan, his brown eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree, explained his life’s dream. “I love flowers. All kinds. I draw them sometimes. Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve had this dream of owning a flower shop, a little downtown one with pale blue curtains out front. Doesn’t that sound lovely? I just know I’m going to open one.” And Brendon agreed with Ryan. It did sound lovely.

Brendon and Ryan exchanged phone numbers, and they started to talk on the phone for hours every day, sneaking out of their houses to meet up in the local park at night. Often, they kissed. It was lovely, Ryan’s soft lips against Brendon’s chapped ones, young love, pure energy. And always, Ryan talked about his dream of the flower shop, and Brendon looked forward to him having one more than anything.

But Brendon and Ryan lost contact when both of them went off to college at eighteen. Time passed like nothing, and before Brendon knew it, they were thirty. Unsurprisingly, Brendon had become a successful yet lonely businessman, dark and serious, rich but sad. The surprising part was that Ryan had gone down the same path, although he had become a lawyer instead. His once-sparkling eyes had become empty and dull, his gorgeous brown curls now cropped and grey, the flowers and pastel tones of his wardrobes long gone and replaced with suits and greys, whites, browns, and blacks. Even his delicate pale skin was now tanned and a bit wrinkled. 

So when Brendon ran into Ryan on the street one day, he didn’t recognize him at first. Then, when the equally sad-looking and formally dressed man across from Brendon looked at him with longing, lovestruck eyes that were strangely familiar, Brendon’s stomach dropped. Was that… The other man hurried over to him. “B-Brendon! Brendon, oh my god, it’s really you.”, he exclaimed softly. Brendon could’ve fallen over. “…Ryan?” Ryan nodded, and Brendon suddenly felt like crying. “But… what happened to the flower shop?” Ryan seemed confused for a minute, as if he had actually forgotten, but then he just looked sad. “Oh. That. I forgot about that a long time ago.” And the two boys—men now—looked at each other, crying their hardest not to cry.


End file.
